Welcome to training camp, where the Indianapolis Colts will (once again) attempt to break the world record for the most uses of the word “grind;” where they’ll vow that this year, like last year, and the year before that and the year before that, will be “the most physical camp we’ve ever had;” where just about every single player on the 90-man roster, according to coach Chuck Pagano, will arrive “in the best shape of his career.”

Some things never change.

Some do.

For the first time in the team’s 33-year Indianapolis era, the Colts will stay home for training camp, eschewing invitations from local universities like Anderson and DePauw. It’s a shame, really, because the team is leaving behind some great memories. It was at Anderson University in 1998 when a few plays into camp, quarterback Kelly Holcomb ran straight into Marshall Faulk on what was supposed to be a handoff. Faulk was incensed. “Get that rookie in here!” he shouted at the coaches.

It was on a practice field at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2003 when a rookie fifth-round pick from a school no one had ever heard of boldly pledged he’d lead the team in sacks that year. He didn’t, but Robert Mathis retired 14 years later as the franchise’s all-time leader.

Beyond the bold proclamations, they’ve had fun. It was 15 years ago a few certain Colts made it their mission to make a grand entrance at camp. A little showmanship never hurt anyone — as long as you back it up. When you win 12 games a year, you can arrive at camp however you want.

Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James during their first training camp together, in 1999.(Photo: Star file photo)

Perhaps most unforgettable: In 2002, Tony Dungy’s first season leading the Colts, Edgerrin James and Reggie Wayne arrived at Rose-Hulman in the back seat of a taxi — a taxi that had taken them all the way from Indianapolis to Terre Haute. The Yellow Cab cost them $200. The driver proudly displayed their autographed checks upon arrival.

The reasoning? James’ Florida license had been suspended. Too many speeding tickets. (The last straw: A 111-mph ticket in a 60-mph zone.) So in the week leading up to camp, James sought the advice of his quarterback, Manning, on whether to take a cab or a limo for the 70-mile trek. Manning convinced James the blue-collar route was the way to go.

“You’ve got to go like a workman, take the cab,” Manning told him.

Wayne nobly carried on the tradition for a decade more. In 2006, the first season post-Edge, Wayne arrived in James’ No. 32 Arizona Cardinals uniform. (After six stellar seasons in Indy, the Colts had let James walk in free agency.) This was Wayne’s way of saying he wasn’t happy with it.

In 2007, six months after the team’s Super Bowl XLI triumph, Wayne arrived in hunting gear, anticipating the champs were about to be “stalked” by teams chasing their hardware. In 2009, he rode up in a dump truck, armed with a hard hat and a lunch pail, vowing the Colts’ Super Bowl quest “was under construction.” In 2012, he arrived in a Humvee along with members from the 38th Aviation Brigade in Shelbyville — a nod to the selfless nature of the military. In 2013, he flew in on a helicopter; a year later, zipped into town in the back seat of an IndyCar two-seater.

“Damn ... nobody showed up to camp by parachute,” Wayne, an analyst for NFL Network, tweeted this week. “Where’s the excitement? #GottaHaveFun.”

The closest we’ve come to fun in the past few years: Donte Moncrief riding around on a hoverboard in Donte Moncrief socks.

Then there’s the rest of camp — the work, the monotony, the endless slog. Apparently, Andrew Luck’s favorite part — other than the football part — is the fact that he can smell as bad as he wants. Former Colts backup QB Matt Hasselbeck revealed last year on a radio show that Luck “is kind of like a college kid, still. He takes pride in not showering, (that) kind of a thing, you know ... he’s grungy.”

Luck, himself, admitted on the first day of camp last summer that his favorite part was that “it’s football all day. You don’t have to think about anything else. You can wear the same clothes for two weeks and no one will judge unless you start to smell.”

Made aware of Hasselbeck’s comments shortly thereafter, Luck came clean. “I do shower twice a day,” he said.

NFL training camps are also home to boundless hype, both founded and unfounded. With no games of consequence, it’s what drives the headlines for the duration of August.

Exhibit A: On the last day of camp last summer, Luck stood on the field at Anderson University and called receiver T.Y. Hilton “probably the best player on the field.” In this instance, he was dead right. Hilton was nearly unstoppable in camp last season, consistently dominant, looking and feeling and playing better than he ever has. It proved a harbinger of things to come. Hilton followed his stellar camp with a stellar season. He led the league in receiving yards.

Exhibit B: In 2015, Colts rookie receiver Duron Carter put on a dazzling show for three weeks. Made a dozen “Did-You-See-That?” catches. Tore up the defense some days. After one four-touchdown afternoon, the Colts official training camp recap declared that Carter “had the best day we’ve seen from a Colts player after a week in Anderson.” At one point, then-offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton said that Carter made at least one catch a day “that makes you say, ‘Wow.’”

The Colts bought in. The media — yeah, we’ll admit it — bought in. The NFL bought in. Former wideout Chad Johnson tweeted at one point that Carter was “a Top 10 receiver right now before playing a down.”

No. He wasn’t. Turns out, it was all a mirage. Carter never even played a down. He stumbled mightily in the preseason, didn’t even make the 53-man roster and was gone a year later.

He’ll always have Anderson.

There was a certain charm to the city; legions of fans would trek up I-69 to take in mid-afternoon practices under the unforgiving summer sun. The Colts would routinely pack Macholtz Stadium for their evening workouts. The fans, seduced by the optimism of the preseason, wanted a glimpse into what was to come.

One year, after a practice, owner Jim Irsay walked over to the fans and started handing out $100 bills like they were pieces of candy. Manning always enjoyed a good card game with his teammates after the night’s final meeting. Sometimes, a few players would venture off campus and grab a chili dog at an Anderson staple, Gene’s Root Beer stand.

Training camp commences Saturday, the work, the monotony, the endless slog. Or, what they’ll call it, “the grind.” There is also the anticipation of the coming season, the unknown. There are more position battles to watch than in year’s past, more starting jobs that will be decided on the field. There is Luck, the starting quarterback, trying to throw himself back into shape before the regular-season opener. There is Pagano, entering Year No. 6, his future beyond that murky at best.

And there is the mediocrity the Colts are desperate to climb from. Is this team better than 8-8, its record each of the past two seasons?

Probably. Every single player is about to arrive in the best shape of his career.